


A Forgotten Promise

by MommaBirb



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Reader Is Not Frisk, Romance, Slow Burn, Underfell Sans, attempt at slow burn, depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-01-15 22:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12330501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MommaBirb/pseuds/MommaBirb
Summary: Memories are always coming and going, even the most important memories. With a forgotten memory also goes an important promise you made all those years ago while at the mouth of a cave. You were just a child clutching a flower crown with such devotion you couldn't have possibly known what would become of you because of that promise you made.And even if you've forgotten about it, there is someone who will make sure you'll be keeping it.





	1. All But a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> So I've finally decided to create my own little story, starring our lovable Sans of course. I hope to keep updating this at least once a week if my schedule allows.
> 
> I'll add tags as I go along

You were asleep.

_Wake up._

Who?

_Wake up, quickly._

Why?

Something sparked with those words, a sudden rush of feeling that crashed into existence; and with it...you awoke. Not suddenly, but rather your eyes fluttered to life and looked upwards while the rest of your body laid still, feeling rather heavy as though they were made from cement. And they have been for all you knew.

You took in some things when you woke up; the biggest thing, you found, was that your mouth felt incredibly dry, like you had taken a mouth full of cotton before you went to sleep and let it soak up any moisture you may have had. And with the dryness you became of something else rather quickly, a drop of water...then another, two became three then three became four and so on until you came to the conclusion that there may be a leak in the ceiling...but wait. Where was the ceiling?

You blinked to clear away the fogginess of your sight, yes there was part of a ceiling, but rather it was the ceiling of a cave and you happened to be under an opening that was quite the ways up. You saw the stars. They glittered and gleamed as if they were precious diamonds...but they seemed so far away, so so far away. How deep have you fallen?

You took in a deep, ragged breath. Was that what happened?

You fell?

If you had fallen, you couldn't recall what had happened that led up to your downfall. What you did know, was that it was probably time for you to get up and fully take in your surroundings and assess the situation. With a bit more effort than you would have liked and a strained grunt, you were sitting up, though you immediately had the urge to lay back down again when your head began to reel from the sudden movement. You refused. There wasn't time to lay down, you weren't sure why, but it felt as though you were sort of on a time crunch right now.

Pressing your hand to your forehead you closed your eyes until the throbbing in your head ebbed away enough for you to think clearly. When your hand fell back to the ground you felt your fingers brush against something smooth and lush. Flowers. You had landed on a bed of bright, yellow flowers and somehow they had broken your fall (though it didn't seem like it should have been possible, not from the height you fell from anyhow). Plucking one caused you to feel a small twinge of guilt but you ignored it and gently rolled the stem between your fingers while examining the plant. There was a strong sense of familiarity surrounding the flower, as if it held some precious memories within each petal, it warmed your very core while you gazed at this simple plant...but there was also a clawing sense of urgency that caused your skin to prickle and you quickly let go of the flower and watched as it fluttered back down to its rooted siblings.  


_You Shouldn't be here..._

Ah. There was that voice again, so soft and whispery...yet it held pleading tones with each word. It sent a ringing through your ears, so you closed your eyes and placed your hands over your ears, and yet you still heard that voice; as if it was coming from within your mind.

_There's no time...he's coming for you..._

Who was "he"?

_A terrible dream come true if you don't hurry and wake up...!_

How odd, how could one wake up if they were already awake to begin with? This puzzled you a great deal. Puzzle...that reminds you that you had yet to finish the crossword that you had started on, it wasn't as if you were very good at those anyways, but knowing that there was something left unfinished while you were down here...even if it was simple and meaningless it had brought a small disheartening feeling over you.

While pondering over your sad and unfinished crossword there was a small noise coming from the shadows, so small and light that you almost didn't catch it. Almost.

It started off slow. A shuffle here and a shuffle there, not a steady pace but it was definitely coming to where you were still sitting amongst the flowers. You found yourself unable to move, even as the sounds became more frequent and louder, they began to take the form of steps. They weren't thunderous nor were they the steps of someone dragging their feet...they held purpose but they weren't rushed.

You opened your mouth to call out to them, sure they've already seen you, but something caught in your throat as if you were choking down a congealed lump of oatmeal. You heard the voice once again.

_Shhh...don't speak...just close your eyes and wake up._

You ignored the words, well you didn't speak so you partially ignored them, your eyes still focused on the inky darkness ahead of you. The steps kept coming closer, it sounded as if the owner of those steps were just a few feet away now. Maybe it was just a hiker who had came into the same predicament as you? Possibly a passerby who witnessed you falling and is here to lend you a hand. Wouldn't that be nice of them.

Or perhaps...something else? You began to perspire as you kept looking into the darkness. The sound of the footsteps had all but stopped. You feel a presence just at the edge of the darkness surrounding the flowerbed, there was enough light for you to see possibly a foot in front of you, the rest was absent of any glimmer to show what the surroundings were.

If you reached out your hand right now, if you dared, and let your fingers slip into that darkness in front of you there would be someone...no there would be something there. The thought made your blood run cold. What was even worse was the feeling of someone's gaze on you.

You gaze forward, every muscle in your body telling you not to look up. Don't you dare look up. Don't you even breathe. Don't...DON'T!

You looked up.

There you met the flames of hell. You see it, the heat, the fire and everything scalding in the world lay there. A red so deep and so scarlet that you could swear blood had been spilled...but yet it was a red so passionate and so filled with longing you could feel your heart call out to it, reaching to hold that warmth as close as possible and never letting go. Even if it meant setting yourself aflame.

You weren't sure how long you were staring. Minutes? Possibly even hours before you finally broke yourself free the reddish glow and looked down at your hands clutching themselves against your chest as if they were trying to keep something caged there. A bead of sweat rolled down your cheek until it dripped off of the tip of your nose and landed on a petal of a flower.

_Hurry! Wake up before it's too late!_

Just as you were about to finally listen to those words, before you could even think about squeezing your eyes as tight as possible a deep, earthy chuckle rumbled and tumbled forth from whatever was before you. It shook your very soul and had your breathing come to a standstill.

"There you are..." The words were rough and jagged and you felt them bite into you and yet they kissed you at the same time. Feverish kisses that left your skin hot and blistered. Your eyes were wide and unblinking, but you refused to look up, scared to find what you'd see this time.

Rustling could be heard and you felt your breathing hitch when something hard pressed against your cheek. A hand? It didn't feel right to be a hand...it was too hard and there were ridges pressing against your cheek in such a way that it was borderline uncomfortable...and yet you found yourself leaning into the touch despite the alarms in your head saying that this was everything you weren't supposed to be doing. Despite this you felt an overwhelming sense of relief  wash over you and you felt a tear searing a trail down your cheek and a soft whimper pass your lips.

The hand on your cheek traveled down until hard fingertips dug themselves under your chin causing you to turn your head up back towards where that searing red light was, but you kept your eyes shut. "Look at me." A shudder wracked your body, the voice wasn't malicious but the commanding tone left no room for argument, it was as if you didn't have a choice in the matter.

Your eyes open again, hesitantly, and you're met with that same piercing red glow and your gaze is enraptured once more. Your heart hammers in your chest and you're afraid it's about to burst from your ribs. You felt what could have been a thumb brush just the edge of your bottom lip, it quivers in turn.

"Don't forget that promise you made to me, it'd just break my heart if ya did," The voice trailed off and gave a light chuckle before the fingers from your chin all but vanished before you could get a look at them. There was some more movement before silence, but just for a moment. "Now close those eyes of yours, Doll, gotta give ya something before you up and disappear on me again."

Oh how you want to disappear. The conflicting emotions of fear and comfort had begun to take an emotional toll on you. You just couldn't get your heart to stop beating so fast. What promise were they even talking about? Why could you make any promise with a person that could strike such chords in you that you're left feeling like a worn out violin. But you still closed your eyes.

"That's a good girl," It was almost like the words were dripping with spiced honey. There was a moment before something was gently placed on your head, not quite like a hat per-say, you did feel that the top of your head was still visible, but there was something encircling the circumference of your head and you felt gentle wisps of tickling against your forehead. You reached up and felt your fingers gently rub along a soft and silky petal. A flower crown was given to you.

While you pondered the reason why you'd be given such an innocent item the same hand from before had come to your face again, but this time it was to cover your eyes; you began to pull away from the sudden contact but an arm wrapped around your back and pulled you close to something broad and firm, there was no give to the surface, no softness that flesh has even if it was covered by a shirt. Your hands had moved to the front of you to catch yourself, your curl your fingers bunching the fabric of what you assume to be clothes underneath them and you find yourself grazing your fingertips over a hard surface before there was nothing and then again the same feeling, as if there was a space between. You couldn't process what you were touching before there was something warm fanning over your left ear and you couldn't even open your eyes to see what was beside you while there was a hand clasped over your eyes.

 There was a brush against your ear, something sharp had grazed it just enough to send a shiver down your spine. "When you wake up...hurry and come and find me, would ya? Come down here with me, just like you promised." Each word spoken into your ear sent a mixture of emotions through you and all you could do was keep still before you opened your mouth to say something, only to close it back again like a fish out of water. So to placate this being keeping you close against them you just nodded dumbly. You still had no clue what they were talking about but there was a pang in your chest that had you convinced that this was important, and it was splitting your head apart not being able to figure out  _why_ it was so damn important.

And just like that you let go, your eyes opened to look for the figure keeping to the shadows, but even though you could still very well sense them still standing there, you hadn't caught a glimpse of them. You bit your lip before you finally built up the strength to find your voice and when you spoke your voice sounded as though you were in desperate need of a glass of water. 

"Who are you?"

They chuckled again but it sounded strained this time around and before you knew it that red glow flashed into your field of vision once again, but this time you found your mind going murky while looking into it, your eyes drooping and your body going lax before you finally succumbed and fell onto the bed of flowers again. You were able to hold consciousness long enough to hear their departing words: "You'll remember soon enough."

Darkness took over once again.

You were asleep.

But now you're awake.

                                                                                                                   xxx

Your eyes snapped shut and you sat up quickly, fingers bunched up in your comforter while you body shook and a cold sweat had coated you and left you feeling everything but well rested. You were in your room, in your bed and not in a mountain. It was still dark outside.

It took a while to calm down but once you did you placed your hand over your chest and felt your heartbeat, you closed your eyes and felt as though something was pulling you...almost as if it was trying to lead you somewhere. You convinced yourself (albeit not too well) that it was just the after effects of the dream you just had, you'd ignore it for now. 

There was no point going back to bed tonight...you didn't want to risk seeing that burning red glow again. And while you sat there in bed, trying to make sense of what was going on, you didn't notice the stray yellow flower petal tangled in your hair.

 

 

 


	2. Bucket full of Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A restless night leaves you feeling drained both physically and emotionally, so you decide the day would be best spent by doing nothing. Though the nagging at the back of your head has you feeling anything but relaxed.

Coffee will always be your best friend.

The smell was enough to perk you up a bit after your  _very_ restless night. The dream had left you feeling rather shaken to say the least, and you weren't sure if you'd be able to go about your day as you usually do, but you definitely wouldn't let it interfere with your morning cup of coffee. You sighed heavily while you poured the dark liquid into your favorite mug, not too much though it'd be way too bitter, and you made sure to pour enough creamer in to cut the strong taste. The plumes of white mixing in with the deep rich brown of the coffee entranced you for a moment, giving you enough time to look back on that glaring red that you just couldn't tear yourself away from. You shook your head to dispel the image and grasped your stirring spoon tight, your stomach began to churn. Suddenly Coffee didn't seem so appealing right now...

You just betrayed your best-friend over this dream. You definitely had a long day ahead of you.

It was a saddening sight to watch the coffee and cream disappear down the drain when you tipped your mug over the sink, you sent a small prayer and wished the bean juice a safe journey to wherever the pipes will take it. The only thing keeping you from growing too frustrated over this sacrifice was that it was your day off from work, so you could take the time to process your thoughts and pull yourself together and, hopefully, get a full nights sleep tonight. Something, however, told you that this was a silly hope, but you clung onto it nonetheless, after all it was just a very odd dream. Very odd. But you still felt like something was stirring inside of you, like someone had opened up the windows in a stuffy room and the aura of it completely changed, but whether it was for the good was still unsure.  

Your feet shuffled slowly until you were in your living room where you found your second best-friend waiting for you: the very old couch. With all the grace you could muster, you plopped yourself onto the couch so you were laying on your stomach, your cheek squished against the arm of the couch. The remote was just barely out of reach, the tips of your fingers straining to touch the hard plastic and bring it closer to you without you having to get up for it. Today wasn't a day for any strenuous efforts after all.

Hmm. One of the problems of being off on a weekday was that there often wasn't really anything good on television yet, especially with it being still early in the morning; channel surfing didn't show anything promising so you just ended up keeping it on some movie channel where an old black and white film was playing. Despite being disinterested with the movie you kept your eyes glued onto the T.V. screen, trying to figure out what was going on seeing as the movie was halfway over when you flipped to it. Twenty minutes into you watching you felt your eyelids growing heavy and without planning on it, you had fallen asleep.

_You began to dream._

However this time you didn't find yourself laying on a bed of flowers surrounded by darkness, but sitting in front of a cave entrance. Probably the same cave you had dreamnt of being inside of last night. The Entrance to the mountain was all you could see though, the rest of area was surrounded by stark white, your shadow wasn't even present, almost as if the world was coated in white-out except for this small patch in front of you.  

Darkness was all you could see inside and this had you thinking the same presence from before could still be there, but that wouldn't be possible since the mouth of the cave led to a large drop into the mountain. Though you couldn't shake the feeling that your presence was known as you sat in your little patch of whiteness, you wanted to make sure there wasn't a way someone could be right in front of you. So you began to make your way closer to the mouth of the mountain...on all fours and at a very slow pace. Caution was definitely the top priority on the list as you made your way closer and closer, lips drawn into a tight line as you drew close to the maw of the mountain. 

As you crawled closer you took note of something; even though everything blanketed by white, you could distinctly feel blades of grass brushing against your hands each time you moved them forward and a soft breeze rustled what sounded like leaf covered branches. Interesting. A small rock rolled under your palm while you shuffled closer, making you wince in discomfort and pause in your advancement. You were maybe five or so inches away from the entrance. 

You craned your neck as best as you could to look down into the cave, you still could only see darkness, not even the patch of flowers could be seen from this height. You couldn't help but sigh in relief at this, you weren't sure if you'd be able to handle seeing the cluster of yellow petals. Before you could retreat from the opening something caught your eye. There, just a few inches away from you was a wooden stake pushed into (what you assumed) was the ground, wrapped around it was a rope that went forward until it dropped off into the darkness. There was something familiar about it. There was an air of nostalgia around that simple wooden stake, or rather what was attached to it? No maybe not that specifically but what it meant and what it carried.

Did it have anything to carry? You hummed softly before sitting back so you were crossing your legs, you had to think this over some more. Curiosity had been gnawing at you as soon as you saw that rope, there was no telling what was on the other end of it after all, if there was anything. A flash of red crossed your vision and you wondered if whatever you encountered last night could possibly be at the other end? There was a squeezing at your chest when you thought about that occurring...but surely you'd realize something was off and you tried pulling on the rope just to feel something heavy, but what if they managed to pull you down? Oh that was certainly a thought to have, a very unpleasant one. Who'd want to fall down into a dark cave? Certainly not you, especially if there was something unknown waiting for you at the bottom of it all. 

You decided that you shouldn't pull up the rest of the rope. Curiosity killed the cat after all! Though...it seemed your senses didn't agree with that all the way as your body had already reacted and began to pull up the rope. Well, you thought, might as well see what's there this was a dream after all since it wouldn't be able to cause you any actual harm. So you pulled and pulled...and pulled. This probably had to be a very long rope, especially if it reached the bottom, but why did it need to? 

The creaking of the rope as it strained had you holding your breath in anticipation for whatever reason, like you were beginning to feel excitement about seeing what could be at then end, but you weren't sure why you'd feel so strongly about this, there probably wasn't anything amazing at the end. But despite all of that you found yourself shimmying closer to the edge so you could look down into the cave hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever you were bringing it up. You faintly heard a metallic clang, something metal had hit the wall of the cave as you were bringing it closer. That simple noise sent a flash through your mind, flipping a switch almost. 

You began to pull on the rope faster, ignoring the way the old rope was digging and rubbing against the palms of your hands as you did so, it was interesting you could even feel all of this if you were just dreaming. The clanging grew louder and more frequent until you finally saw a flash of something coming out of the shadows. There! You had done it. A swell of pride rushed through you as you pulled on the final length of rope to reveal to you the fruits of your labor, what treasure could this be? What had you so excited? What could it possibly be? 

The answer: A rusty bucket.

This very long rope, which held a purposeful air about it, was tired to the handle of a very old and worn bucket. You ran your fingers over it gently, caressing the rusty patches and skimming along the dents that was no doubt the product of hitting the side of the cave so many times. You smiled gently, head tilted as you turned the bucket as if you were recalling something very precious to you. And perhaps you were, there was no telling at this point.  Something vague and not all there crossed your mind, a small memory of you as just a little girl...holding this very same bucket with such reverence that someone could mistake it as the greatest treasure every found. And that same little you had tied this bucket to this very rope and...and what? You tossed the bucket down the cave? Why?

Your brows knitted together while you brought the bucket close to you, hugging it to your chest...you felt such strong connection to this bucket but you couldn't remember why at all or maybe these emotions were just fabricated by your mind just because this was all a dream. But it couldn't be, these emotions seemed as though they were meant to be held near and dear to you, like you weren't ever supposed to let them go let alone forget about them. You squeezed your eyes shut, curling in on yourself, there was a throbbing in your head, seeded deep in the crevices of your skull that you could hear your pulse hammering in your ears. You clutched tighter to the bucket as if it was going to relieve the migraine now plaguing you and keep you grounded to this stark white world you find yourself in.

_Open your eyes._

Ah. Right, you had yet to look into the bucket; slowly you opened your eyes (the white all around you causing another pang of pain to go through your head) and you looked into the bucket you held so closely. Oh? There was a piece of paper inside. You ignored the pain in your head while you reached in to pluck the small piece of paper out, it was worn around the edges and seemed hastily written on, the handwriting was sloppy and there were only two words written on it:  _Don't forget._

What weren't you supposed to forget? You turned the paper over in hopes of finding more information but there was just blankness that greeted you, so you opted to look into the bucket once more. A flower. But it wasn't a yellow flower that you had seen before, it was a small blue flower that greeted you, the bloom fit the palm of your hand and the stem was thick, cut at the end rather neatly. You leaned in close and without knowing why you turned your ear to the flower and closed your eyes, gently rubbing one of the petals between your thumb and forefinger of your other hand.

A voice, small and worn but it was there, could the flower speak? You're briefly reminded of Alice in Wonderland and think you may have possibly found the Rabbit hole she had fallen down into. You ignored this silly thought while you focused on hearing that whispering voice, it holds the same familiarity this damn bucket has and it's causing your heart to ache with longing. 

The voice is deep and rough...full of bites and kisses. You frown at this, why were you hearing the same voice from your previous dream? For now you ignored that fact and focused on what it was actually saying:  _"Come on, sweet heart, find me."_ Hearing "sweet heart" thrown in there had you reeling more than it should have, your headache had almost gone and left just a dull ache and your heart. Oh god your heart. Was absolutely  _hammering_ at hearing the voice say it. There was barely say in the matter on your part, but you found yourself wishing to hear that same voice call you that again, so there you sat with a bucket in your lap and a flower gently pressed to your ear just so you could hear that gruff voice say "sweet heart" over and over again until you had to pull it away. You stared at the flower and silently begged for it to tell you whose voice it was whispering back to you, but sadly this flower didn't seem to be able of talking on its own.

So you brought the flower close to your lips without thinking too much about it, your body was moving on its own a lot while you were in this dream just going on as if it knew what to do better than you did based on muscle memory. You didn't deny it at this point. You gnawed on your bottom lip before you looked into the darkness of the cave, eyes unblinking while your lips moved to form the words "Tell me where you are." The voice that played back was weak and shaky, but it was definitely yours; gingerly you laid the flower back into the bottom of the bucket before carefully dangling it over the edge of the cave, you wished it luck before you let the rope slide through your hands gingerly. The bucket began to descend back into the shadows. You took your time, not wanting the delicate cargo to be damaged on the way down, you were pretty rough pulling the bucket up earlier.

When you ran out of rope to feed back into the cave you sat still, hands folded clasped in your lap while you looked at the rope, not too sure what was supposed to happen next. There's always a chance that whoever left you the flower (if it was for you) wouldn't be down there right now and even if they were there what would happen after that? "When am I going to just wake up from this dream...feels like it's going on forever..." You muttered to yourself, almost considering  jumping into the cave in hopes the falling feeling would jolt you awake, but you didn't have long to consider this option before the rope began to creak and sway a bit. Was someone down there? You didn't dare to look over the edge this time, instead you kept still while holding your breath as you watched the rope long enough for it to finally settle and you kept watching sometime after that.

It felt like you were sitting there for a very long time and you almost began to think you were stuck in some sort of limbo. Just as you were about to figure out what your options were you felt a presence behind you, a very dominating presence that seemed all too familiar. You had to stamp down the urge to turn around, you weren't ready to face what had jostled you so much, it had you pour out your coffee this morning! You regret not drinking it when you had the chance, maybe then you wouldn't be sitting in this damned and confusing dream of yours, you'd still be on your couch watching a boring but normal black and white movie.

What felt like two arms wrapped around your waist, holding on tight and bringing you into that same hardness from before. Like a deer you kept stock still and had your gaze wide and unblinking while you stared ahead into the cave, it seemed rather inviting all of a sudden and you wished you had thrown yourself in like you thought to do before. Now you were engulfed by this looming figure, trapped in their embrace while you tried to fight the urge to lean back into it or even to turn yourself around to return the embrace and hold on tight, hold on and keep holding until you exhale your last breath and fade away into nothingness. You fought this urge as hard as you could, but oh how you yearned to be held like this for all eternity despite the fear wracking your body and chilling you right down to the marrow of your bones. The fire in your heart was battling with the cold fear running rampant through your veins and you weren't sure whether you should be worried about being burned alive or freezing to death.

During your racing thoughts, your hands had traveled down without your permission and had curled themselves into what you were assumed were sleeves, the fabric wasn't thin and when you ran your fingers further down you felt soft tufts of (what you hoped was) synthetic fur at the end. A jacket? You absently kept running your fingers through the fluff until you slid your hands down more and you were greeted with a rough texture, thin and ridged. Almost like fingers but not? You felt each digit that interlocked together and kept you where you were and just as you were about to look down to get a look at these "fingers" something had brushed the back of your neck, sending a shiver  through you.

There was a deep and long inhale before the hold on you tightened. Whatever had hold of you was starting to sniff the nape of your neck, this had you feeling like a small rabbit that was just about to be devoured by a hungry wolf. You thought of gnashing fangs sinking into your flesh. You weakly tried to pull away but the grip on you held strong.

"Shh...not yet, you can't go, not until I tell you where to find me," You felt each syllable fan across your neck. "Just like you promised."

Again with this promise.

You gulped down the lump that was in your throat, why was it so hard to find your words when you were near them? "I don't...I don't know what you mean, what promise?" In reaction to your words the hold on you loosened a bit, this had you wondering if it were possible to tear yourself away, but you didn't try even when you thought you possibly could. You didn't want to. 

They didn't answer right away, it felt like several minutes went by before you felt them shift, hunkering down around you more until you felt something hard rest on your shoulder, their cheek? You kept looking forward even with warmth of their breath so close to your jugular. "Find me down the rabbit hole." Goose bumps washed over your skin, they were so close you should be feeling lips brushing against your skin, but you felt what you assumed were teeth grazing over you. They felt rather sharp and for a brief moment you wondered if you really were in the midst of a wolf. 

"Mount Ebott." 

Static crackled in your ears. You were thrown into darkness.


	3. Web Surfing

When you came to there were two things you quickly took into account: firstly, your head felt as if it was splitting in half and you had wound up sprawled on the floor in front of your couch. You groaned as you got back up off the ground, rubbing one of your eyes with the palm of your hand. What time was it? A quick glance at your phone that was sitting on the table alerted you that it was now about two in the afternoon. You were asleep for quite some time, the black and white movie from before now replaced with a rather cheesy looking alien movie. 

You felt so tired.

Even with that long nap you still felt even more drained than you had before; it had to be because of those two dreams you've had so far. They left you feeling so strange when you awoke (besides the headache the second one brought), you could feel your chest tight and you felt as though something wasn't quite right, like there was something missing that you should notice wasn't there anymore but you simply couldn't and it was driving you up a wall. What even brought on these dreams? You hadn't read any odd books or seen any strange movies as of late to stir your imagination before bed or anything, even if you had, the dreams had been too vivid compared to past dreams that it had you feeling like there was more to it. Plus...whatever that voice said caused your skin to prickle. Mount Ebott. That's right, you heard that right before you were startled awake. 

Sitting back down on the couch, you plucked your phone from the table and unlocked it to look over any notifications. There was nothing important. There rarely ever was; you never really kept in touch with people, finding it easier to go day-to-day with the bare minimum amount of human contact as possible, getting close to people always ended up blowing up in your face so it was just better this way. Brushing aside your reclusive thoughts, you pulled up your trusty internet browser and brought up the search engine, you typed in "Mount Ebott" and sat back while waiting for the results. Most of what came up was news articles, some sort of recent but what caught your eye was the older ones that dated back a little bit longer than ten years ago, the majority of them mentioned lost children. You clicked on one of the more recent ones, looked to be one of the last missing kids case.

**_Young Child Found at the foot of Mount Ebott: Parents relieved._ **

_'One of the most fortunate of the missing kids cases to hit the town brings some hope when the young child appeared some days after going missing. Reports say the child wasn't hurt severely, but minor injuries could be seen about the child's body. When asked what had become of them for those few days of absence the child, Frisk, simply said that they had "fallen" into the mountain and had spent the days navigating their way out from the underground tunnels that lie underground._

Frisk? What an interesting name for a kid, but that name rung a bell to you, and it seemed (like most things today) it was familiar but you couldn't place your finger on it. This was starting to agitate you, feeling the recognition but without the reason has you feeling very unsatisfied about everything. For now you ignore the annoyance and keep reading the article, skimming through some of the garble.

_Over the years there have been several missing children cases have caused the town to feel despair at losing an innocent soul, speculations and rumors throughout the town lead many to believe the children had ended up in the same situation as young Frisk, going into the woods on the outskirts of the town and heading up into the mountain area where they either fell into the mountain or simply found themselves lost. Despite all search efforts before the children had never turned up so the theory of foul play was brought into possibility, but lack of eye witness accounts or evidence has lead the cases down a cold trail._

_Once Frisk had recovered more fully, Police questioned Frisk on whether someone had taken him to the mountains and if there was any signs of others like them which they replied: "No one brought me to the mountain...I was wandering and fell when I came to it was just me. I never saw anyone else. not even kids." Some believe that this statement was false and Frisk had encountered something down there, but what is left a mystery._

Peculiar but it didn't really bring any answers, so you back peddled a bit and kept scrolling through articles until you came across what looked like a small forum about the "Monsters of Ebott", this struck you more so you went onto the site where you found over exaggerated black background with flames licking up the screen behind the forum threads in the corner of the page stood a small, dancing three eyed, purple monster with a "I love Ebott" flag held in both of its clawed hands. Cute. One of the threads still seemed fairly active so you decided to explore that one for a bit, though you didn't have your hopes up on finding any answers on this site.

Most of the thread consisted of teenagers ranting about demons coming from the mountain shortly after that Frisk kid was found, some joked that they were probably part of a junior occult group whose right of passage was to make their way through the mountain and make a deal with the devil, and that's where the other children must have gone, but Frisk was the only successful candidate. This was met with many replies dismissive behavior, some even joked back and forth about that for a bit but otherwise it wasn't taken seriously. Part of the thread was dedicated to telling your experiences with the monster(s) residing in the mountain and most sounded like simple ghost stories you'd tell at a campfire, some seemed less tacky.  

One user went on about how they decided to camp out in the front of the opening, even though there was a fence closing off the area so no more children could go missing (and it seemed to be working if there were no more missing children reports), they had used wire cutters to get into the closed off area seeing as the fence wasn't electric or anything. They went one to explain that they felt a sort of energy emanating from the mouth of the mountain, a sort of powerful aura that didn't seem to be there before and throughout the night the presence would come and go as if it was expecting something. The user told how they were too afraid to sleep, not wanting to be dragged into the mountain if there really was something there, but they decided to get a closer look and look down into the mouth of the cave. When they had peeked over the edge they only saw darkness, endless and deep. But as they kept staring into the cave they believed they saw a glimmer of something, but it was hard to tell with it being so far down, a quick flash of a gleam in the darkness as that strong presence was making itself known again.  _"It was like I couldn't look away, I felt a pull on my chest and the urge to jump in took over me, it was just for a moment though! As soon as that feeling came over me it was gone like that flash of light down there. I can't say for sure it was anything like monsters...but there was definitely something going on."_

Hmm...pulling at the chest? You were vaguely aware that you had reached up to clutch the front of your shirt while you set your phone beside you on the couch, not bothering to give it a second glance. During the two dreams you were aware that there was a feeling of something pushing within your ribs, like it was trying to escape and be out in the open or it was being ripped away from you to be open and exposed to any who could harm it. But you didn't know what it could be, whatever it was you definitely weren't too keen on the feeling that was for sure. You mulled this over for a moment or two more before deciding that this wasn't something to hold onto for long, it was probably just coincidental situation is all, superstitious teenagers scaring themselves by seeing things that weren't there.

For now you decided to forget about the strange dreams, a shower sounded really nice right about now. So with that, you turned off your television and headed to your bathroom, already slipping out of your shirt by the time you made it into the small space (apartments with spacious bathrooms were hard to come by). Each garment you removed you let drop onto the floor before finally you were bare to the world, well not really the world but you were certainly bare. You turned around to look at yourself in the full length mirror you had leaning against your wall, your eyes looked over yourself and you noted that you were starting to get a little softer around the middle than you would have liked but that can be dealt with in due time, maybe cut back on the take out for a bit and actually cook a meal or two at home. That probably wasn't going to happen. Sure it wasn't the cheapest thing in the world but take out food was so much easier and rather yummy, so what if you gained some pounds because of it? You'll keep warm this upcoming winter.

You rubbed one side of your neck, smiling slightly before you looked to your left by your belly button where a puckered scar sat. Your smile fell. You moved your hand down to gently run your fingers over the scar, it was circular and about the width of a milk jug lid, not big but it was there and there would be a matching one if you turned around, skin was sensitive and barely grazing your fingers over it still had it tingle in a way that made your bellybutton hurt for some reason. Your gaze traveled from that scar to look at your face's reflection, you gazed back at yourself and you couldn't help lick your lips and feel the small scar that you had on your upper lip just beside your cupid's bow. There were many like it, small scars that you could barely see unless you took a good look and you rarely did. You didn't like to think about how you had gotten them, whether it was the smallest one that resided on the palm of your right hand to the biggest one on your stomach, each one served as a reminder for that day. You look away. Why do you have this mirror here anyways?

Like many other things today, you pushed thoughts and memories of the scars under the rug in your mind while you started the water to the shower, making sure it ran just before it was hitting scalding temperatures. Maybe the hot water will help relax your muscles and your thoughts. When you stepped into the shower you winced at first but soon you were relaxing into it, eyes closed while you tilted your head upwards towards the spray. You needed this. You definitely needed this shower to distract you from your already stressful day, and it barely just begun.

And unbeknownst to you, you weren't the only one having a stressful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the next chapter I'll be having it on the flipped side of the coin, so of course that means going through the motions on a certain dream crasher's side


	4. The other side of the Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We look into the other side of the story, the other half to the whole. What lies behind the mirror
> 
>  
> 
> (This turned out to be a longer chapter than I expected! Not disappointed with the results though)

Quite a ways away from where you stood a mountain, tall and looming but full of life and lush greenery just before the edges of the forest met with a small town. The sun shone down on the mountain and the shadows cast seemed to take on a life of their own stretching and reaching towards a cave at the base of the mountain almost as if it was sucking the shadows in and devouring them to strengthen the darkness that filled it. Something had changed about this mountain, no longer quiet like it had been for many centuries-the mountain seem to come alive and it groaned under its slowly approaching freedom. Deep within the mountain, deep under the ground those who dwell there could also feel the changes. And they were ready for it.

"Shit," A harsh whisper cursed, the source was glaring ahead while clicking their teeth together in annoyance, a glimmer of gold could be seen through the dimmed area. A lumbering form stood from the bed they had been sitting down on before stepping over to a window, looking out at the snowy surroundings that greeted them, a small town that was home, where they found both solace and grievance. The image of the town outside the window warped into the reflection of the one staring out the window, and it would have been a very unnatural sight for anyone to see, well any human to see. A stark white skull glaring forward at himself, the small pin pricks of light nestled in the darkness of his eye sockets flickering while a slight red tinge radiated from his left side. He huffed through the sharp teeth that interlocked together, a single golden canine contrasting against the paleness of bone.

Certainly a mug only a mother could love. Maybe. 

This living skeleton turned away from his reflection and made his way over to the light switch, flipping it to flood the room with light. It was a mess of a room; socks and various other articles of clothing littered the floor as well as papers, books and various other assortments of objects were strewn about. There was a bed among it all, but even that just had a balled up sheet thrown atop of it liked it was the normal thing to do. It was definitely a sad sight. 

He had meant to clean it up. Many times in fact, he worked up the gusto to maybe move a sock in a corner where it could be out of sight or even pick up a few papers here and there so he could place them down on the desk in the room. The cleaning bug never bit long though, soon he was back to lounging on his bed, hunched over and thinking of many things. Many things that had him breaking out into a sweat from stress, much like he was now. He reached up to dab wipe the sweat away with the sleeve of his coat, not even caring if he was going to end up staining the fabric with it, luckily it was made from a dark material so it wouldn't be too easy to spot. 

It still didn't change the fact that he was stressed out though. Plenty of his magic had been drained since last night and it was leaving him feeling rather fatigued. What he wouldn't give for a nap right now. But he couldn't risk it, he wasn't sure how long this window of his would stay open or if it will ever shut, but he needed to focus on the task at hand and if that requires using every drop of magic he has in his body all at once well then, so be it. 

The exhausted fellow stepped to the side a bit towards his door, huffing loudly before opening the door and stepping out into a dimly lit hallway. He kept an ear out (even though he has none) and focused on whether he could hear any ruckus in his home, when he deemed that he was alone he finally stepped out further and shut the door behind him grumbling softly while he descended down the stairs. 

Bones creaking and popping, the walking skeleton sat down on the couch that stayed pretty much dead center in the room, not bothering to turn on the old television in front of him, instead he leaned back and let his body slump down while he kicked up his feet and rested them on the coffee table. It wasn't often he was able to do this. Beside his foot he noticed something yellow and square stuck to the table beside an equally yellow and empty bottle, rushed but still neat red letters written on the sticky note. 

_'Sans! What have I told you about leaving your disgusting mustard bottles around the house?! Throw it out at once! I'm meeting with Undyne, when I come back I hope to find this gone. -Papyrus'_

That explains why the house was so quiet. 

With his grin widening a bit, Sans moved his foot over just a tad so it would knock the empty bottle off of the table, hitting the floor and then rolled itself underneath the couch where there were possibly a dozen other bottles like it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sans sat in silence after that for a bit, sometimes letting his sockets droop and dim before he snapped them back to their alert state. This went on for a while longer before he finally decided sitting down wasn't the best way to stay awake, so he stood up from his comfy spot on the couch and headed back up towards his room. After all, he wasn't sure when Papyrus was getting back. Don't get him wrong, he loved the guy, he was his brother after all, but the more exuberant of the two could be a lot to handle. Especially when it's after a meeting with Undyne. 

So, he wound up back in his room, pulling out the chair to his desk and sitting down. He certainly liked to sit. But this time, Sans didn't slouch or seem as exhausted as he did before, instead an expression of nostalgia washed over him as he fished out a small key tucked away in a secret pocket sewn on the inside of his coat, there was a slight hesitance when Sans hovered the key over the top drawer of the desk, bony fingers tightening their hold on the key before he finally relented and opened up the drawer before letting the key clatter on the wooden surface. 

Reaching into the drawer took another pause, but it was shorter than the last and took both hands to carefully pull out a simple cardboard box. He handled it with great care, thinking it must have been an absurd sight to see his bulk frame hunched over while gingerly holding this plain looking box like it would shatter with just smallest of whispers. The contents of the box was a whole new matter, Sans took great care to take out each item and set them next to each other on the desk before putting the box inside the drawer for now.

The small pin pricks of his eyes scanned over the objects: a small and tattered bunny doll that fit easily in his hand, a carefully folded piece of paper that was torn from a sketchbook, a flower crown and lastly a small, silver bracelet that was made for child's wrist with a charm of half a heart dangling from it. 

Each item may have looked small and useless to any outsider, but to him these little trinkets meant a great deal to him. Sans didn't like to admit that underneath his glowering exterior he was actually a pretty sentimental guy. A trait he was sure would get him into a great deal of trouble one of these days.

He picked up the small doll, letting it rest in the palm of his hand while he carefully ran his fingers of his other hand run over the worn fabric, careful not to let the sharp ends of his finger bones slip and cut a hole. He remembered the day he got this little gift very well (he remembered each moment he received one of the small presents).

_He had been sitting at the bottom of the cave entrance, looking up to see the glimmers of sunlight that he could when the small toy had fallen down to hit him square in the face. He had half a mind to tear the dumb toy in half out of sheer annoyance of having it hit his face, but he didn't. Instead he had held the toy by each of its arms and looked at the cutesy sewn face and the floppy ears and craned his neck to look back up at the entrance of the cave that was so high up._

_He heard someone cry._

_Just barely, it was soft and small and it barely carried down into the cavern but the cries were certainly there. Loud and obnoxious laughing almost covered up the sniffles that followed. Sans had recognized that kind of laugh, a laugh from someone that thought of themselves bigger and stronger and believed they could pick on someone they deemed weak. He had heard that kind of laugh plenty of times while growing up, he hadn't been the strongest of monsters and it had been harder to defend himself when he was busy trying to raise Papyrus._

_The laughing continued for a few more minutes before it faded away and all that was left was the small sobs from above. They struck him to his very soul and he wasn't sure he liked that. He looked back down at the doll still dangling from his hands before he had closed his sockets and heaved a heavy sigh. The rabbit was then back to being held in his right hand, he glared at it for a bit before finally tapping the middle of the doll just as his left eye had the red tint around the light of his eye, a red smoke trail gently rolled from his socket just as the rabbit was enveloped in the same colored smoke._

_The bunny began to float._

_Or rather he began to have it levitate, watching it leave his palm and carry on its way higher and higher til it was just below the entrance of the cave. He wasn't sure if it would work, returning the toy. The barrier that was placed on the mountain by humans so many years ago pretty much kept whatever fell into the mountain inside, but....lately there had been a change since the last human had left, like there was a little less magic holding them in than there was just a few days before. He wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed it, but he did._

_So it was like an experiment shrouded by a good deed, yeah that was it. He watched the rabbit bob and twirl in the air for a moment longer before finally gently tossing it at the entrance of the cave, half expecting it to just hit the barrier and fall right back down at his feet, but to his surprise the rabbit simply passed through and made it's way back to the world that has been out of his, and the generations before him, reach. His soul began to thud against his ribs._

_The cries kept on for a minute or so longer before they subsided and silence encroached on him. Sans tucked his hands in his coat pockets while he turned around and was about to make his way out of the ruins. A wave of something washed over him when he saw that simple doll pass through the barrier like it was nothing, before it wouldn't have been able to. Whatever fell down into the underground usually stayed. Well, not since that last human had fallen down here..._

_Sans barely caught it, it was barely a whisper. A croak even. Still thick with the tears just shed moments ago. "Hello?"_

_His head snapped back to look up, there he could barely see someone peeking over the edge. A child. They probably couldn't see him all the way down here._

_The kid kept looking down for a while before calling out again, there was a bit more confidence in their voice this time. "Thank you! You gave back my dolly...right? I didn't think I'd get her back after that bully threw her down..." They kept looking down and waited for a reply. It never came. Sans kept staring up at the kid for a long time before he finally turned around and used a short cut to get out of there._

_He found himself coming back the next day. Skipping out on Sentry duty. Again._

_Sans never really visited the ruins, especially where the fallen usually end up. But a friend of his had lived here some time ago and after the last visitor had made their way through the underground she had disappeared. Leaving the doors to the ruins opened._

_The bed of flowers still gave him the same uneasiness as they did the first time he saw them. They were too yellow and bright for his liking and it seemed like they were just waiting their to ensnare some other poor sap that falls down. He liked to keep his gaze away from those damned flowers, but something had caught his eye among those obnoxiously bright petals. A bunny doll. The same from yesterday._

_Had the same kids from before thrown the toy back down?  Sans picked the doll back up and found a small ribbon tied around the rabbit's neck where a small note was attached: 'Thank you for yesterday, you gave Alice back to me but I think you should keep her so she could be your friend. Maybe we could be friends?'_

_The handwriting had been sloppy, the way a child would write._

_"Friends, huh?" Sans had almost laughed at that, instead snorting while re reading the note, Alice now tucked into his pocket. He looked up and grew rigid where he stood. That same little head from yesterday was peeking over the edge of the cave again, but this time he could barely make out a hopeful smile etched on the kid's face. It almost felt like they had been staring right at him, but he knew that couldn't be true._

_His soul still shook._

_There was a buzz in the back of his skull and he ignored it, crumpling up the note in his hand without realizing it, when he did he  smoothed the note out and looked over it once more before clicking his teeth together like he always did when he was thinking. This could kill time._

_He shrugged and zipped home using one of his short cuts, not even bothering to give Papyrus a "How do you do?" before zipping right back to the ruins with a pen and paper as well as a very well rounded rock. A pet rock. A companion for a companion, yeah?_

_Sans scribbled out a corny little joke he found in a book he had discovered at the dump when he was little. 'How did two oceans become friends?...' He added few dots for the dramatic silence. 'They kept waving at each other.' It wasn't all that great, but something to break up the ice. He added a few extra instructions on how to care for the rock, making sure to note that it enjoyed having extra sprinkles for dinner, before he used the same magic from before to lift the rock with the note wrapped around it up and towards the entrance, making sure the kid couldn't see it coming to plop right by them._

_It took them a moment to notice it but when they did they picked it up quickly and disappeared. There was a few short moments of silence before snickers echoed throughout the cave. It sounded much better than the crying from yesterday, Sans thought. The kid poked their head out again and this time they were waving their hand, grinning wide._

_Sans' usual grin softened around the edges a bit and he couldn't help but give his own little wave even though they couldn't see._

_That was the first time he felt his soul reach out._

xxx

After that encounter that same little kid peeked over the edge almost everyday to toss down messages until you suggested a better way of sending down the notes. Just a bucket attached to a rope. That way he knew where to look and he didn't have to worry about anything damaged. The first thing he found in the bucket was the flower crown, it wasn't big enough to fit around his skull but he did like looking over the flowers. They didn't fill him with anxiety like the yellow ones did, instead they filled him with intrigue. These were plants from the top, where the sun kisses the petals to give them the vibrant warmth and colors they seem to have. 

It was sad seeing the crown now, the petals had began to wilt and turn brown and curl at the ends, but Sans couldn't bring himself to throw it out. 

Next was the drawing, it had been the mountain and then the town that laid before it. A glimpse at the world outside of the underground. He had asked for a picture to look at and despite the picture being mainly colorful scribbles from crayons the effort had been appreciated. 

The bracelet was the last gift he had received. There was a small letter saying that you had to leave but they'd be back again soon, but the bracelet was so he wouldn't forget about his new friend, they would have the other half of the heart charm on their own bracelet. They promised they'd come back, promised they wouldn't forget about him. Promised that next time they'd even like to come down and see him, he told them he couldn't come up from the cave to play since he was kind of stuck down here , even if people said only monsters lived down in the mountain.

A promise to free him.

That was the last time he heard from the kid. 

They never came back.

Sans never thought it was a big thing, after all kids couldn't really have the means to keep promises or realize how heavy a promise really was. But Sans still felt a bit disheartened with each day he went back to the ruins to find the bucket still empty. When it began to rust he decided to stop coming.

Many years went by with just the trinkets to remind him. But that changed just a few days ago.

It had hit him like a ton of bricks, his soul had almost felt like it was going to explode right out of his ribs and the same buzzing from the first time was back in his skull but it was louder and it couldn't be ignored this time. The same presence from before, the same soul he met those many years ago was resonating with his. Sans found himself unable to stand proper. Luckily he had been standing next to his bed.

He heaved and huffed with each wave washing over him.

He could feel them. The child from before, but the innocent soul from before had changed but hadn't at the same time; the soul of an adult, not as bright or full of the same glittering unabashed hope kids seem to carry, but still keeping that warmth and kindness he could barely make out on the other side of the barrier. But now, he could feel it like it had been around all this time.

The barrier. Had something changed?

He couldn't focus on that, all he could do was wipe the sweat from his brow and grinned.

He could feel them.

Sans could feel the connection to them.

The connection to  _you_.

It was about time he made sure you kept that promise of yours.

 

 


	5. Where did Alice Go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm glad it seems like this work of mine it seeming to pique the interest of some, and I have received such lovely comments that just make me feel like continuing with this! I'm definitely no pro, that's for sure, but I hope everyone can stick with me on this while I work on it for as long as it takes!

Most of the day had been wasted away in front of the television, but at one point during the evening you finally decided to peel yourself away from the couch long enough to go out and head to the grocery store, something productive had to be done today or else you would feel rather unaccomplished when it was time to tuck yourself in for the night. So grocery shopping seemed like the best thing and maybe you'd even do the dishes after you fixed yourself a proper meal for once or even manage to tackle that ever growing pile of laundry in the corner of your room (there had been a laundry hamper before the mountain of clothes slowly took over). You weren't the most together adult around. But you managed.

The grocery wasn't eventful. You grabbed the essentials; Milk, eggs and bread and went off to buy instant meals and even some stuff to make your own meals, sugary cereal was a must have as well as more coffee. Toiletries were a definite as well as laundry detergent so if you managed to start taking on the laundry mountain you actually had something to clean the laundry.

You went over budget. The Cereal had to go back. It even had marshmallows in it, but you'll live.

Once you got home and took the couple trips up and down the stairs of the apartment building you were almost already too tuckered out to even put away the groceries, but you powered through it and you stood triumphantly once you shoved all the empty bags in the trash.

Next was cooking dinner. You decided to just order order a pizza.

Some of the mountain of laundry had made it into the washer and dryer before the pizza arrived and you gave yourself a mental pat on the back while you feasted on your greasy, gooey goodness you called dinner.

It was night by the time you finished your meal, afterwards you gathered clothes from the dryer and had a romance movie going on as background noise while you folded laundry. Your train of thought ventured back to your earlier dreams, the distractions of doing something other than lounging around now over and done allows for your mind to bring up whatever it feels like. 

A shirt you held up to fold now sat in your lap with your hands holding onto it loosely. There was a blooming warmth in your chest when the memory of being held close to whatever it was in your dream left you feeling sort of...empty? There had been a completion with the contact, even if there had been a sense of downright fear bubbling up, even thinking back on that voice sent a prickling wave across your body, hair standing on end. Not in a bad way, just an electrifying kind of way? Like seeing a part in a movie or hearing a song that touches the senses in the just the right way.

The way you had been held though...it left an impression on you. It was tight, almost too tight, but desperate. There had been a kindness to it as well as a pleading sort of feeling, it was rather confusing to get so much from being grabbed from behind. 

You leaned against the back of the couch, craning your neck to look at the ceiling with a blank look, the shirt all but forgotten in your lap. These dreams could just be nothing, that was probably it really. Just a really vivid dream your mind conjured up just to throw you in a loop. And it had worked rather well.

But there was something more to it, something important. Dwelling on it wasn't doing much for you right now.

You checked the time and decided it was about time to get to bed, you did have work in the morning after all. Much to your displeasure. But the bills had to get paid somehow.

The laundry was put away before you crawled under the covers of your bed, huffing softly while you settled down for the night, laying on your side so you could face the wall closest to you. It took a few moments before you felt your eyes starting to get heavy.

You could feel your conscious begin to slip away with each breath you took. Mind unwinding, body seeming to melt into a pool of sleepy tranquility and warmth under the covers. You felt the sea of dreams begin to gently take you in its sparkling waters and carry you safely away.

That is until the sound of creaking and the space of your behind you dipped from a sudden weight. There were no animals in this apartment last time you checked. There was a long silence in the room, the only thing you could hear was your heartbeat hammering in your ears. Had someone broken in? You didn't hear anything, the door was locked and it would be quite the climb to get into your window. The fire escape was just outside your window so you would have seen the intruder...unless they had already been in the house while you were out earlier?

Your fingers twitched, your phone was just on the night stand beside your bed, you could see it...but if you make a move for it whatever or whoever was behind you could move faster before you could dial an emergency number. Well shit.

There was no movement for a few minutes more and you began to wonder if you had just imagined it all, maybe it was a trick of the mind like when you feel like you feel that jolt like you were falling just before you sleep. Just as you were about to accept this possibility, something finally moved to rest on your exposed arm. A hand?

The muscles throughout your entire body grew taut under your skin from just that touch, fingers began to drum gently against the skin.

You couldn't build up the courage to look. 

The fingers kept drumming.

You began to sweat.

"Wanting to see me again so soon?"

That voice again. It was definitely the voice from your dreams, but despite the close proximity you felt from them, the voice coming from them sounded distant and slightly fuzzy. The best way to describe it would be like setting your phone on speaker then going into the next room. 

The drumming stopped, fingers curled around your upper arm gently and you vaguely noted that the tips of their fingers seem to come to a point with the way they lightly scratched into your skin.  You made no sign that you were going to answer. 

"If ya feelin' all eager, it'd be easier just makin' your way back to the mountain, sweetheart," There was that rumbling chuckle that had your body going haywire. "Rude to keep a guy waiting for so long after all..." They...-he started to play with the sleeve of your shirt, you could feel the light tugs on the fabric. "You did promise after all, to come see me...to see your pal, can't help but think you forgot about me."

There was a lot more talking going on than what there was in your last two dreams...maybe this was just another dream? 

Your arm was pinched, you winced from the slight sting. "This ain't a dream, kid. I may not be able to actually be with ya, but it's definitely me really talkin' to you. Takin' a hell lot outta me too, y'know?"

You were finally able to croak out some words. "What...wh-what do you want from me?"

A groan. "We went over this already and I hate repeatin' myself...but listen closely. You promised me, on that pretty lil' soul of yours, that you'd come back to me. Even if you were just some brat back then, you were my brat. Gave me that raggedy rabbit remember?"

Rabbit? What Rabbit? Raggedy...like a doll? "Alice?"

"Bingo."

You lost Alice. You didn't give it to anyone. 

_Where did you lose her?_

Huh? Where...well you lost her...it was. It was...where was it again? School? Maybe on a trip.

On a trip.

Trip to Grandma's.

Sweet peach tea and shortbread cookies from a tin.

Clean air. It was warm. Summer air.

To heal. You were sick.

Enemies.

A friend.

Grandma's bucket went missing. Grandpa's best rope too.

The metal was warm and smelt of sun baked rust.

A hole.

Alice went down the hole.

Down, Alice, down...down that rabbit hole. She never came up. Alice was gone...no given.

Down, Alice, down...

Down...

Papa and Mama went down...They never came up. They were gone...no taken. 

Warm red splashed when Mama fell. 

The smell of antiseptic when Papa fell. 

Your fault.

Why didn't you fall too?

It was hot, too hot. But you felt so cold. Your body was shivering, but you pushed the blanket off of you. It was suffocating. You can't remember! 

_No, you don't want to remember..._

Breathe. Remember to breathe. That's all you needed to remember right now. You were gasping, trying to gulp down air like it was escaping you and you had to take in as much as you can while you can. Salty tears stung at your eyes. You choked on a sob and you wondered briefly if you dying. You didn't want to die alone in your apartment. 

Wait...

_You're not alone._

You regained enough sense to still feel the presence behind you and how it had grown tense just before it relaxed, an arm wrapped around you and you felt a body press flush against yours. "Breathe, kid." The hand that had been on your arm was now on your chest, gently pressing right on the middle. "Breathe with me." You could feel what you figured was his chest expand against your back as he took in a deep inhale, then deflate as he exhaled. You weren't sure if you could feel breathing on your neck bu you followed his example.

You inhaled when he inhaled and exhaled when he did the same. All the while he hand stayed on your chest. Could he feel your heart pounding against it? "That's it." 

You stayed like that for a while, just breathing. You could feel yourself starting to calm down. The shivering slowed and you were able to catch your breath. When you were as calm as you were probably going to be for a while, the hand on your chest stayed for a moment longer, he didn't seem to have lecherous intent...but his touch had a very calming effect on you. Cooling like mint. Warm like cinnamon.

His chest was still pressed against your back. "Didn't mean to cause such a ruckus, look I'll just split for now."

You wanted to tell him to stay. 

You kept quiet.

"But don't think I'll be givin' up."

The pressure against your back was gone, as well as the dip in your bed.

You took this moment to sit up and look at the spot where he had been. There was nothing. The sheets didn't even appeared to have been moved aside from your own movements, like it was just you in the bed the entire time. You wondered if you were going crazy. The cooling tingles and relaxing warmth from earlier still radiated through you however as you laid back down, but this time you kept yourself facing the other way, looking for the presence that never seemed to have been there in the first place.

You stayed awake for the rest of the night.

 


	6. Killed the Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I'll be trying to keep it consistent when I update it but with the holidays coming up and all it may be more scattered than I would like. Thank you for sticking with me though!

You were finally about to shut your eyes and try going back to sleep when your alarmed blared. It was time to get ready for work, or it would have been if you hadn't chucked the phone across the room (luckily unharmed) just to get up and trudge over to where it had fallen just to make a phone call into work, letting them know you weren't going to be able to make it into today.

There was minor bitching, but you were a decent worker, you always came in and barely called out during your few years there. So when it did come time to make that kind of call, there was some grumbles that came with it on the other end but there wasn't too much fuss overall. 

When the call ended you crawled back underneath the covers, making sure even your face was buried underneath all the plush fabric. You ignored the fact that you felt a little suffocated under the blankets, breathing had some hitches under there but you were warm and comfy and you were exhausted. 

You fell asleep.

You didn't dream.

Instead there was just an inky darkness where your dreams could have been. You felt at peace. 

xxx

Elsewhere there was a frustrated monster. He sat hunched over on his own bed, scratching at his skull while streams of quiet muttering hissed through his pointed teeth. Red tinted perspiration collected on his brow and rolled down to drip onto the fabric of his shorts. 

He was never a very patient guy.

it had only been a day and he already felt like his bones were going to splinter under all of this pressure he was feeling. Something was going to happen when he finally got you here.

If he got you here.

But he would. He just had to. His soul was screaming at him to make sure he did.

The moment Sans could feel the way your soul resonated there had been a small whisper in the back of his skull, searing his thoughts with just one central focus. To get you back to him. You were only a kid when the both of you became "friends", but you left an impression on him and it stuck.

But now, with just a couple of weeks after he felt that familiar song from your soul and the whispers skittering around his mind, he could feel a slight inkling of unease forming in the hollow of his rib cage. Usually he could ignore stuff like this, keep his grin up and his relaxed slouch natural looking no matter what issues were plaguing him. Sans was a type of monster who knew how to keep everyone else in the dark about what was going on with him.

This situation however had him feeling a little more tense. Those who hung around him more than others had started to notice it. But he kept up his grin, even though it looked a bit more strained than usual and kept going about the days as he always had before he felt your soul.

Sans thinks back to what transpired just some hours ago. You were all comfy and getting ready to sleep it seemed right before he came into the picture, not like it was actually him or anything. It was like...a projection of himself almost. Sans hadn't been able to do that before, but it wasn't like he ever had the gumption or reason to. It took some concentration and a lot of magic to get a grasp at a small tendril of your soul and follow it to where you were.

Sans wasn't able to see you very clearly however. He hadn't been able to in your dreams either. All he could see was darkness and a gentle glow of your soul, the glow expanding and taking shape just enough so a silhouette of a person was visible. Whatever had been around you was absent in his line of sight, but he had a sense of it almost.

Like the bed you had been laying on, he couldn't see it or touch it directly, but he knew what his projected self from climbing on when he got into bed with you.

The skeleton also never saw the panicked look in your eyes when he had mentioned your old stuffed rabbit. But the way your soul quaked was enough of an indication at what was happening. It was crying out, and the soft glow around it turned sharp and jagged, lashing out in waves. Each wave sent a heavy dreadful feeling through Sans' own.

There was something wrong.

Something was missing.

 He could feel it the first time he made contact with your soul, the connection was there but it was all fuzzy now. The pieces were fitting together but they were from different puzzles almost.

Sans figured it was nothing, maybe just a fluke of a feeling from being apart so long. You had been just a kid after all growing up changes a person. Changes their very soul.

When he came into your first dream did he finally realize it wasn't just time and the barrier's magic making your soul feel strange and different to him, it definitely had been more. There was barely any recognition when he appeared in front of you.

Your soul had began to quake in fear but Sans could tell despite that immense fear there was a yearning. A desire to be close. To be near the friend that had been lost for so long. A forgotten friend.

Sans could feel himself ignite. 

All he had wanted to do was just to see for himself how his missing chum had been, get a feel of what time's toll did on you. Maybe figure out why you never came back like you said you would. Why you just left him down in dark pit he called home. Why you just left him with a fucking box full of dusty, childish trinkets. A box full of cherished treasures.

He couldn't hold too much against you. You had been a child, maybe the same age as that Frisk kid that had fallen some time before you came knocking on his door. Sans really shouldn't have put so much hope into your promises as he did, he knew, but he was worn and tired. Tired of having to stay in the mountain and see everyone around him struggle to figure out what they're going to do if it keeps going on the way it had been. So when a small rope fell for him to climb up he couldn't really be blamed for trying to climb it with all of his might. Even if the rope was in the form of a small and torn rabbit doll.

Despite it all. Even though a kid who just sort of served as a small distraction from everything he was dealing with down in the Underground, even though though it was just a small amount of time the both of you shared. Memories collected in a rusted up pail.

It still hurt despite everything. To sense the fear going through you when he just wanted to pop in for a visit. He almost decided to just forget the whole thing and go back, maybe finally toss the box and free up some space for more important items. 

But those damned whispers weren't letting him give up just yet. They grew harsh and abundant the closer he was to just leaving you to dream of whatever it is you did. 

There was a swarm in his skull, rattling his thoughts around, turning them into a honeycomb of nonsense. The syrup dripping from his eye-sockets and filling his mouth until he was drowning from the sweetness. Whatever buzzing insects were taking home in his skull they were certainly a pushy bunch. 

_Don't stop. Bring her. Need..._

Need? 

_Don't stop. drag her down...need...need._ _**NEED.** _

Annoying. Shut up already.

They never did.

Sans told himself to just go on about his life after he left you alone from the first dream. But he found himself again in your dreamscape without really thinking about it. Just sort of happened, but it felt like the right thing to do. He needed you to find him. Maybe then the whispers would stop. When he had been near you like this they seem to muffle a bit. If you could just hurry up and get here maybe they'd go away.

It had only been a day of trying to contact you again and he was already desperate.

The third time that day had sort of just happened too but it did have some conscious thought behind it. He knew what he wanted to do but wasn't sure how to go about it, but he ended up succeeding without really remembering how. It was almost instinctual. 

It had been the closest he felt to your soul. When he wrapped himself around you to try and calm you from whatever was plaguing that precious little mind of yours...he felt complete. It was though he found a missing sock that just so happened to come fresh from the dryer. Warm and irreplaceable. Even though he was attempting to comfort you, you in turn were comforting him. He could hear himself think while he held you to him, felt the way your soul grew brighter and then softer with each inhale and exhale of air you took. He felt his own soul matching the rhythm. Sans would have been rather happy to just stay like that. But he knew he couldn't.

There were always limits when it came to magic. Even his own.

Luckily you seemed still enough. That faucet of emotion no longer gushing.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Time to go back.

The whispers started up as soon as the projection of his soul returned to him. 

Cracking open his skull didn't seem like a bad idea. Relieve some of this goddamned pressure.

No time for that. He needed to think. To plan.

A plan to get you back to him.

Luckily humans were pretty predictable, unstable yes, but pretty predictable when you get passed all that wily determination they got. One thing humans always allow to be their downfall no matter what obvious consequences lie ahead.

Curiosity. 

He just had to get his little kitten curious. There was a spark of it in you by now, he was sure, he just needed to fan the flames a bit get it roaring so all you could do to douse the flames would be to sate that curious appetite of yours. He'd need a helping hand of course, an unknowing one. 

An old pal of his. He could still feel their presence even after they left. Probably trying to keep an eye on them. Didn't really leave on good terms after all. 

A simmering red filled one of Sans' eye-sockets. " _Frisk._ " He had bittersweet feelings for that one, it was complicated. But they had a connection to you as well as him. After all they were well aware of what could happen if another kid fell down into this hell-hole. 

The King would have a field day. 

When Frisk left the Underground there wasn't much word of how they got out but the barrier was definitely still there when they did. Not a single human fell after that. Probably had something to do with them. Couldn't really blame them, any more souls came falling down would mean most, if not all, monsters would be ready to break free and there was talk of malice and destruction of humankind of they ever did. Act like the Monsters the humans perceive them to be.

Nevermind that for now...he had bigger fish to catch. He just needed some good bait. 

 


	7. Wish Upon a Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A call of warning, more dreams of the forgotten. Action finally beginning to be taken to move the cogs of destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah finally! A new installment for all of those who have patiently been waiting. All those lovely comments kept me going until I could finally present to you this piece! Hopefully we can start getting this story going into more eventful directions besides these dream scenes!

When you finally awoke for the second time that day you had groaned to yourself, a hand coming up to rub the sleepies out of your eyes before you blinked blearily towards the sunlight streaming though the curtains. At least you didn't sleep the entire day away...But you surely did wish you did, the duvets were warm and heavy on your body both comforting and suffocating. A too close of an embrace.

Some minutes passed while you laid there, eyes now flickered to the ceiling and eyeing what appeared to be a small insect, a fly possibly, crawling along merrily without a real care in the world. You were never keen on seeing any sort of bug in your living space, gave you the creepy crawlies when you watched them fly around or scuttle about and you couldn't help but get the ghost feeling that there were more of them making their way along your skin underneath your clothes. But right now you didn't really have that sort of concern, instead you just watched the small creature for a few minutes more while pondering what it could it be doing up there. Maybe it saw her staring up and wondered the same thing? Maybe it even was trying to seem nonchalant and going about it's day as low-key as possible as not to get a rise out of you. Do flies feel fear? Maybe you'll look that up later. Probably not.

A few more moments passed before you built up enough energy to quickly throw off the blankets from your body and roll right of bed. You had to ignore the blanket's pleading gaze so you could unplug your phone from the charger and step out of your room, automatically making a beeline to the kitchen. Today you definitely were getting that cup of coffee.

You gave a yawn while you got it all set up, checking your phone after you flipped the switch on. It'd be a handful of minutes before you could have the first cup so it made sense to pass the time on your mobile until then. Sadly none of the apps you had peaked your interest and for a moment you considered actually looking up some factoids on flies when your phone began to buzz in your hand alerting you to an incoming call. 

Now this was a small surprise to you. You didn't really get calls, never really gave out your number to people so you could. The number didn't look familiar nor was it in your area, you weren't sure where it was from but it didn't look like a toll free number, but still could be some automated message about insurance or some amazing deal, or even just some person who dialed the wrong number. That happened a couple of times.

Eventually the phone stopped vibrating, deciding it was best to just not bother with it. So you didn't. 

A minute passed before you were receiving another call. Same number as before. You let it ring once again until it ceased, sort of curious if they would go for a third time. Sure enough almost immediately another call came in. 

You glanced at your coffee and saw the first few drops of coffee making their way into the pot. still some minutes until it was ready. You relented and slid your thumb across towards the green phone icon, putting the phone up to your ear and closing your eyes, licking your lips before mumbling a small but clear 'hello'. Your voice cracked a little, mouth still dry and saliva thick from sleeping just a few moment ago.

There was a pregnant silence, not even any background noise could be heard and you almost assumed it was just some sort of automated call. But before you could move the phone away and hang up a voice finally perked up. "I did warn you, you know?" 

What a familiar voice they had.

"You never were a good listener, especially when you were a kid," The voice was rather pleasant, calm and collected, didn't really project too much emotion but you caught a twinge of annoyance as well as a reminiscent tone, whoever was talking to you probably had a small smile going on while they thought to when they apparently remembered you as a kid.

Just a little creepy. 

You kept quiet, wondering suddenly if this was a crank call from a co-worker for calling in today. There were a few you would think would do this kind of tomfoolery, but the only ones who had your number were the main managers and even then if somehow someone did get their hands on the number it wouldn't explain the area code. 

Okay, for curiosity's sake...you'll bite.

"I'm sorry?" The apology wasn't sincere, the other party probably could catch that. 

An audible sigh and then a few words were spoken away from the phone, you couldn't make them out. It wasn't long until they were back though. "I told you he was coming...told you to wake up." Up goes the flags on that one, you immediately went to the thought of your dream, thoroughly caught off guard.

The creepiness meter was starting to go past the 'little' mark and even zoomed across 'moderately' and sat on the 'immensely' range on the scale.

Your lips parted but before any words could leave you the voice interrupted you. "Don't ask me the how's or what's. I don't know how it happened myself." Some more silence from the both of you.

The gurgling from the coffee pot caught your attention and you set your phone against your shoulder while you kept your ear to it while fetching a coffee cup from a cupboard, definitely needing a cup now. Your hands were surprisingly steady while the coffee poured into the cup, even the spoonfuls of sugar didn't falter with each addition. The first sip didn't have much flavor and the heat didn't register while you kept focused on training your ear, waiting for the other end to keep going. 

They didn't. You figured you'd prompt them to.

"Who is this?" Seemed like a fair question.

Some more offhand mumbling, you thought you heard another voice maybe even a giggle? It was too faint to be sure. When they responded, their voice sounded sort of desperate, tired but it still hid behind the collected tone they tried to keep up. "I can't...I can't tell you...not yet anyways. I'm a friend I can tell you that much, you probably don't remember me."

The coffee was set aside, a second sip was never taken. Probably wouldn't even finish it at this point. More coffee down the drain it seemed.

You needed to sit down, so you held the phone once again as you sat yourself down on your couch, not really bothering to flip on the lights, the sun lit the room enough through the blinds to make sure you didn't run into anything. "Okay, we'll set aside that the who you are for later...so we crossed out the who's, the how's and the what's...so how about the why's? Why are you calling me?"

You leaned back against the couch, craning your neck so you could look up at the ceiling, you did this rather often it seemed. There was a fly once again. Was it the same fly? Hopefully it was, you couldn't house too many of these pests before you definitely needed to charge rent on them. How would a fly even keep up rent, they really couldn't have a job. Didn't have many qualifications. They just buzzed around and annoyed people all day.

For a moment you had forgotten you were on the phone with someone until they began talking again, they did seem to enjoy their dramatic pauses. Collecting their thoughts more than likely. "I just wanted to give a warning, hopefully you listen this time," There wasn't meant to be any sort of malice or jab with that, but it still stuck you the wrong way. "It's better for you...for them. For  _all_ of us maybe if you just keep away."

While they spoke a certain uneasy feeling was welling up inside of you and was starting to get to the point it was going to dribble over the edges and start flooding the place. You couldn't place the feeling or really understand why it was coming about, but it left your skin feeling a tad bit itchy. 

For a moment you wondered if the fly was crawling across your skin.

"There's a change, a shift here. Because of me that day...but something is telling me it could end with you...so just keep away."

Another pause.

"Keep away from Mt. Ebott."

The call ended.

A long moment of silence and stillness until finally you moved your hand to the side and dropped your phone on the couch, not really taking notice when it bounced off and hit the ground below. 

The urge to take a nap suddenly washed over you. Maybe this was still a dream, one long and confusing dream. But it strung together too nicely to be an actual dream. The story never changed too drastically, it all stayed centered on key point.  _Mt. Ebott_.

The itch started to spread across your body. There must be a colony of flies dancing along your skin now, having a meeting. Maybe a celebration of sorts? The voice from before whispered in the back of your mind, urging you to come to them, telling you that you just had to come to this place and now someone else was saying that it was apparently essentially to everyone that you didn't go.

Quite the pickle.

Really you would probably just written the situation off after the dreams, just figuring it a weird night where maybe you watched or read something that followed you into your subconscious, but that call sort of piqued your interest on this whole thing. All of this  _could_ be a coincidence, but it was highly doubtful. 

You hummed in thought before moving to reach down and grab your phone, pulling up the search engine and typing in Mt. Ebott once again, this time you spent more time combing through the various articles and posts on the area. There were the few monster superstitions here and there like before as well as travel sites recommending one to take a trip there; describing it a gentle and quiet town with lush greenery growing on the outskirts that would surely calm the most agitated of souls. Plus there were a few programs that offered a hiking trip up the mountain that overlooked the town, one was even an overnight hike and camping combo, letting you enjoy the surroundings in both the day and the night. 

There wasn't all too much on the place, it was just another town. Not too small but not very large, all there was to the place was that mountain. Nothing else would really pique someone's interest unless they just really wanted a getaway to a quiet place. 

As you kept leafing through, a small whisper was building up in the back of your head, much too quiet to hear any specifics on what it was saying (if it was saying anything at all) but certainly loud enough where it was a distraction on your thoughts. Without much thought about it you had gone onto a travel site and looked through the travel options that could take you to the town of Ebott, apparently there wasn't an airport directly to there but to a neighboring town. More than likely a bus would run through to Ebott.

The whispers grew and there was a tug at your chest. You sat the phone down, but you didn't close the tab with the travel options, and scratched at your neck while scanning the room, not really looking for anything but just distracting yourself for a moment. 

For some time you stayed like that; lounging on the couch with your gaze lazily flittering around the room until you felt your eyelids starting to get rather heavy. Why did it seem like you had been so tired lately? Oh so very tired...

_A brief sense of floating came over you. Softness enveloped you and the taste of sugar syrup coated your tongue as the whispers melted away and were replaced with the gentle sound of humming; soft and calming tone that drew you into its bosom and left you feeling safe. You could no longer feel the mean children's venom course through you and the scrapes didn't sting as much anymore._

_"Just this once, a cookie before supper." Sugar coating the wounds, caramelizing to form protective scabs over all that was wrong. An innocent secret between two._

_Young eyes now dried look up to see a wrinkled angel looking down. Gentle hands brush away the crumbs, skin no longer youthful but rather just barely hanging to the bone and so fragile a sharp tongue could cut deep. But still so beautiful._

_Leaves gently fell from a strong oak tree, the Summer sun slowly setting over the horizon. A warm breeze caresses with a promise of a better tomorrow, a kiss from thinning lips promise a better forever._

_"Tell me again..." Aging are the words, silk with snags in the smooth fabric that once was. "About your friend in the mountains."_

_There was a flash._

_Sweetness melted away but the warmth remained, morphing anew until the oak split and widened and morphed until bark became stone and the maw of a mountain gaped. Waiting. Waiting for a victim to fall._

_No._

_Not a victim. A friend._

_A pail full of wishing stars tipped and fell into the darkness like glistening tears. What was your wish?_

_To free or to be freed?_

_To remember or to forget?_

_Reach out and catch a falling star. Fingers stretch to catch what glitters, innocent eyes not seeing the darkness beginning to grow closer until it consumes._

_The mountain swallows you. You begin to fall._

_A falling star._

_What will you wish for?_

_Hands stretch upwards from the darkness to catch what shines. Hopeless eyes spark to life until they burn a hole through the darkness, lighting your way and scaring off the darkness. Outstretched hands catch the falling star, shaking are the hands that hold a young star._

_A new hope. A new beginning. A new end._

_A new friend._

_Innocent eyes turn upwards, seeing who caught them. A sad smile. Glittering gold twinkles and reflected is a young child. A wishing star._

_What will you wish for?_

_"To be freed...to be remembered..." The voice splinters and reverberates, piercing deep into the star, embedding the wish into the flesh until all that is left is stardust._

_The wish bearer holds what is left of the star close, whispering words that can no longer be heard. Whispers filled with sadness and a blooming hope._

_A flash of gold in a gentle smile, a glimmer of red in hopeful eyes. Then nothing. The star begins to sleep. The darkness slithers back._

You jolted awake, breathing heavy while you frantically looked around. The room was significantly darker than before but the moon caste a silver glow. A warmth was blooming on your cheek. You brought your hand up and gently brushed your fingers over the warmth, discovering a wetness there. You were crying.

It was slow at first, just a couple of tears rolling down until you could taste the ghost of something sweet on your tongue and the sad smile from your dreams and suddenly a dam broke inside of you. The drips became a steady stream and you clenched your eyes tight to try and stop the salty river but to no avail. Your lip quivered and and you bit down to keep a shuddering sob from leaving you.

You sat there for a while, crying over the feeling of loss that now stabbed at your heart. There was no aging angel to soothe you or hands outstretched to catch you here. You had no one.

A star falling into nothingness.

The whispers in the back of your mind kept on now, a little quieter but they somehow calmed you until the tears began to cease and the sobs were reduced to the occasional hiccup, you wiped your eyes with your shirt. They burned from salty tears.

You sniffled but you grabbed your phone again so you could look over the travel site once again. There was a picture of Mount Ebott, the opening could be seen and you thought you caught a glimpse of a stake in the ground with maybe a rope tied around it. 

You thought back to your dreams. You thought back to the phone call. It was all rather silly, everything that had been going on and really there were more sensible people in this world who would just brush it all under a rug and continue going about their lives as if nothing had happen. But you were never a very sensible person and besides, it felt as though you could feel a piece of you that you didn't notice was missing was starting to come back into existence. 

You felt incomplete and it was going to bug you for possibly most, if not all, of your life if you didn't take some action and discover for yourself what part of you was missing. So...if ignoring a word of warning from a random phone call and pursuing pieces of a puzzle your dreams had presented to you then so be it. 

You were never sensible. But you could be determined at the oddest of times.

This was definitely a very odd time. Nevertheless you were determined.

After about an hour of buying tickets and putting in for some vacation days next week as well as looking up places to stay you were now booked to fly to Mount Ebott in about a weeks time. Just for a few days, hopefully enough time to figure out what was so important about this place to you and stop these emotional dreams of yours. They stirred emotions in you that left you feeling rather spent.

With that you got up off the coach and went into the kitchen, pouring out the cold contents from the pot and starting a new batch.

This time you would have that cup of coffee, after all you needed to stay up tonight to plan out what you'd need for your upcoming trip.

The whispers grew quiet. 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So that's it for round 1! I hope you'll stick around for more chapters to come!


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